Lot 354 Canada #714viii 14c Deep Red Parliament Buildings, 1977-1985 Floral & Environment Issue, 2 VF Canada Post Official FDC's Franked With LL Plate 1 & 2 Blocks, MF Papers, DF Envelopes, Closed Blind Variety (Pos. 81)

2 VF Canada Post official FDC's of the 14c deep red Parliament Buildings from the 1977-1985 Floral & Environment Issue franked with LL plate 1 & 2 blocks, MF papers, DF envelopes, closed blind variety (pos. 81). The DF envelopes appear to be the standard ones for these issues, with the fluorescent envelopes being less common. The fluorescence of the envelopes is an important characteristic that has been ignored by all the catalogues. Why does it matter? Because the envelope is an integral component of the FDC in the same way that a cover would be to a complete booklet, or the cardboard insert would be to a pack of plate blocks. The expectation, and general observation would be that Canada Post would utilize one type of envelope for a particular issue, so that if a different one from the standard type is found, then there is a good chance that it will be scarce, and is therefore, in our opinion collectible.

Unitrade does not price this variety as an FDC, but our estimate is $15, based on a mint price of $10 for a plate block.